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Speaker's priorities: Gun laws, unemployment, transportation

By Matt Murphy, State House News Service

Updated:
01/03/2013 08:05:13 AM EST

BOSTON -- House Speaker Robert DeLeo, embarking on his 12th term as a state legislator and his third as speaker, on Wednesday offered new and returning members a glimpse of what the next two years will hold, calling for a review of gun laws, a freeze in the state's unemployment-insurance rate and a long-term transportation plan that reflects "regional equity."

DeLeo, who was first elected speaker in 2009 following the departure of Sal DiMasi, accepted another term as speaker Wednesday after he was chosen by the body to lead the House through the next two-year session.

DeLeo was re-elected speaker along party lines with 128 votes of support, including all 15 freshman House Democrats, to 29 votes cast by House Republicans for Minority Leader Brad Jones.

Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez of Boston did not vote, and two seats are currently open.

The GOP lost a net four seats in the November election, and has one new member in its caucus -- Rep. Leonard Mirra of West Newbury.

Three past speakers -- Robert Quinn, David Bartley and Thomas Finneran -- were on hand for the swearing-in ceremony with scores of elected leaders, past House members, friends and family. DeLeo called it an honor to have his predecessors on hand.

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, a regular attendee at the opening ceremony, did not attend Wednesday as he continues to recover from multiple illnesses, and DeLeo sent the mayor his best wishes.

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In his remarks to the chamber, DeLeo addressed two issues that will demand attention early in the new year, including a long-term transportation financing plan that Gov. Deval Patrick is due to present by next week, and a scheduled increase in unemployment-insurance rates on businesses.

Describing himself as sensitive to the concerns of employers that the unemployment-insurance rate schedule can lead to unexpected costs and job reductions, DeLeo said he will ask the House to freeze rates at their current levels, as lawmakers have elected to do multiple times over the past several years.

"Because this appears to have become a semipermanent condition, I will ask the appropriate committees to study ways in which we can reform our U.I. system to deal with our long-term liabilities while mitigating the burden on employers," DeLeo said.

DeLeo described himself as "frustrated by the depth of the financial troubles within our transportation system."

Calling for reforms that both seek out "efficiencies" and "reflect a sense of regional equity," DeLeo did not specifically endorse raising taxes to pay for improvements in the system, but tied the health of the transportation system to the state's economic performance and said, "We will have to be prepared to make investments."

"I do not accept that safety must be sacrificed for the sake of fiscal solvency, and I will not accept any proposal that does not provide our citizens with the assurance that their transportation infrastructure will be safe and will be state-of-the-art," DeLeo said.

As both Senate President Therese Murray did Wednesday, and Patrick has in the weeks since the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., DeLeo also put gun control on the radar for the Legislature in the coming session. He said he would call on outside help to inform the debate.

"I want to bring together members of our House and outside experts to study the dangerous intersection of guns and mental illness in schools and throughout society," DeLeo said, indicating that he has asked Northeastern University Associate Dean Jack McDevitt to lead the effort.

Rep. David Linsky of Natick, who has called for strengthening the state's assault-weapons ban, plans to host a members-only meeting Thursday with House and Senate members interested in legislation to reduce gun violence. According to aides, the meeting has generated much interest.

"I, like each and every one of you, was shaken by the tragedy that took place a little over two hours away in Newtown, Connecticut," DeLeo said. "As we mourn the lives that fell there, we grapple with solutions. While much of this hopefully will take place on the federal level, I believe we must do what we can on the state level as well."

DeLeo's focus on gun violence drew a standing ovation from both Democrats and Republicans, a moment in the speech that brought the chamber to its feet.

Jones, selected again by Republicans to lead the small GOP caucus, also offered brief remarks, pledging to work with Democrats while also making Republican objections known.

"The idea of reform should never be just a passing fad or a political talking point," Jones said.

Referring to the economic-development bill that House leaders put forward and passed near the end of the formal sessions last summer, Jones said he'd like the House to pick up where it left off and not wait to put forward the next job-creation bill.

"Last session finished where we should have started, with a focus on jobs and the economy," Jones said to the House. "I believe this should be the opening sentence and not a closing paragraph in the coming session."

The North Reading Republican also drew some applause when he called for DeLeo and House Democrats to renew "in bipartisan fashion" a pledge not to increase statewide taxes.

While Democratic leaders have forsworn broad-based tax hikes in recent years, DeLeo and others have made no promises for the new, with long-term transportation financing and a looming deficit at the MBTA emerging as a top concern.

Jones said the revenue needed to invest in transportation could be found by broadening the tax base, not raising rates.

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